High Meadows School Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 581846247
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Roswell, GA, USA
- Phone
- 7709932940
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Kindergarten, Preschool, Nursery School, Early Admissions
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $10,942,155
- Expenses
- $10,204,344
- Assets
- $17,823,410
- Liabilities
- $6,513,707
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
18 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- MARY BAKER (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $331,556 total reported compensation
- MICHAEL RHODES (DIR. OF TECHNOLOGY): $115,766 total reported compensation
- JOHN MILAN DOVIC (CAMP DIRECTOR): $113,151 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The high meadows community celebrates and perpetuates each individual's quest for knowledge and skill, sense of wonder, and connection to the natural environment. We empower each to be a compassionate, responsible, and active global citizen.
What it reported doing in 2024
Instruction: founded in 1973, high meadows school is an independent, progressive school serving children age three through middle school. The school embraces an experiential approach to learning that honors the magic of childhood, inquiry, adventure, and play to encourage students' academic and ethical growth in a respectful, inclusive, and joyful learning environment. High meadows graduates emerge as ethical leaders with the skills and habits of mind to grow and adapt as they discover a place of purpose and joy in an ever-changing world. High meadow school offers the international baccalaureate primary years programme and is accredited by the southern association of colleges and schools and is located on 42 acres of historic farm property in roswell, Georgia.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 85% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 91% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 76
- Transparency & Controls: 83
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 53
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 79.8%; rating input score 80
- Program expense ratio: 87.7%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.61 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 6.7%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.75; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.37; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 7.7%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 79.8% of revenue deployed · 87.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $332K · 18 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $361K reported
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 23/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 59/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.